Glass-engaging edge roll



Jan. 27, 1970 A. s. ROBINSON ET 3,492,109

GLASS-ENGAGING EDGE ROLE Original Filed Feb. 21, 1964 m W N m n Q WHHHMHMHHH will}: hHH .1 llllll l u H H H h United States Patent US. Cl. 65-193 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An edge roll for engaging a margin of a ribbon of glass advancing along a bath of molten metal has a barrel of heat-resistant metal carrying a high melting point ferrule held on the barrel by a key which fits into overlying keyway parts in the ferrule and barrel and which is held in position by a protective retaining piece.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 346,441 filed Feb. 21, 1964 now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to edge rolls for engaging a margin of a ribbon of glass as it is advanced along a bath of molten metal. In particular the invention relates to edge rolls for use in apparatus for manufacturing flat glass in ribbon form as described and claimed in United States Patent No. 3,222,154.

Description of the prior art In United States Patent No. 3,222,154 a ribbon of glass advancing along the'bath of molten metal is stiffened sufficiently to be capable of being gripped and then the margins of the ribbon are gripped between pairs of edge rolls. The upper roll of each pair of edge rolls is in the protective atmosphere of the headspace over the bath, whereas the lower roll is immersed in the molten metal of the bath.

It is a main object of the present invention to provide an edge roll construction which has a useful life in the arduous conditions exemplified above, in particular for use as a lower roll immersed in a molten metal bath.

SUMMARY According to the invention an edge roll for engaging a margin of a ribbon of glass as it is advanced along a bath of molten metal, comprises a barrel of heat-resistant metal adapted to project through the side of the bath and carrying at one end a ferrule of high melting point material for engaging the glass. Preferably the barrel is of heat-resistant steel.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the roll barrel is a rod shaped member, and the other end of the roll barrel is adapted for connection to driving means.

Further according to the invention the roll barrel may be formed with a central bore so that a cooling fluid can be circulated through the roll barrel.

Desirably the ferrule is made of a material which is not wetted by molten glass. For example the ferrule may be made of carbon, preferably in the form of graphite.

Still further according to the invention the ferrule may be made of spheroidal graphite cast iron with a surface coating of tungsten carbide, or titanium carbide. Alternatively the ferrule may be made of spheroidal graphite cast iron with a layer of chromium diffused into the outer surface of the cast iron. When any of these materials are used the roll barrel is preferably cooled, for example by circulating water through the central bore of the roll barrel.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention said one end of the roll barrel is formed With a longitudinally extending keyway, the ferrule is formed with an internal keyway which includes a longitudinally extending part overlying the keyway in the roll barrel and an annular internal groove in which a T-shaped retaining piece fits, which retaining piece is fixed to the roll barrel to hold in position a key engaging in said longitudinally extending keyways.

Desirably the key and retaining piece are made of spheroidal graphite cast iron.

The invention also comprehends apparatus for use in the manufacture of flat glass in ribbon form comprising in combination a tank structure containing a bath of molten metal, and edge rolls projecting inwardly through the tank structure to engage the margins of a ribbon of glass as it is advanced along the bath.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a view partly in section of an example of an edge roll according to the invention showing a ferrule keyed and fixed to a rod shaped roll barrel,

FIGURE 2 is a section on line IIII of FIGURE 1, and

FIGURES 3 and 4 illustrate a T-shaped retaining piece which is employed as a part of an edge roll according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, an edge roll for engaging a margin of a ribbon of glass as it is advanced along a bath of molten metal comprises a main body of heat resistant metal, preferably heat-resistant steel one end of which. is adapted to project through the side of a tank structure which contains the bath of molten metal, for example a tank structure of the kind described and claimed in United States Patent No. 3,222,154.

The rod-shaped main body or barrel of the edge roll consists of a cylindrical part 1 which projects through the side wall of a tank structure, and a cylindrical part 2 of lesser diameter, the end of which is threaded, as indicated at 3, so that the other end of the roll barrel can be connected to driving means for driving the roller at a predetermined speed commensurate with the speed of advance of the ribbon of glass along the bath of molten metal. The part 2 is separated from the part 1 by a shoul der 4 machined on the roll barrel.

The end of the roll barrel which projects into the tank structure is machined to form a part 5 of lesser diameter than the part 1, and a bore 6 is drilled through the roll barrel from the driven end 3 to within a short distance of the end of the roll barrel part 5 so that a cooling fluid, for example water can be circulated through the roll barrel if necessary.

A longitudinally extending keyway 7 is formed in the barrel part 5, extending along the whole length of that part. The keyway 7 is of rectangular form as indicated in FIGURE 2.

A ferrule 8 is carried on the roll barrel part 5. The ferrule 8 is preferably made of a material which is not wetted by molten glass, for example carbon in the form of graphite, but other non-wettable materials may be used, for example boron nitride. The outer surface of the outer end of the ferrule 8 is shaped conically, as indicated at 9, and the ferrule 8 is slid over the barrel part 5, as shown in FIGURE 1.

An internal keyway including a longitudinally extending part 10 of rectangular cross-section is formed in the inner surface of the ferrule 8, and this keyway part 10 overlies the keyway 7 when the ferrule 8 is in position on the roll barrel. A key 11 in the form of a bar of rectangular cross-section fits in the cavity formed by the overlying keyways 7 and 10. The key 11 is not as long as the cavity 7, 10. The ferrule is formed, near its open end, with an annular internal groove 12 which communicates with the keyway part 10. A T-shaped retaining piece, which is shown in detail in FIGURES 3 and 4, completes the fixing of the ferrule to the barrel. The retaining piece consists of a stem 13 which fits into the end of the keyways 7 and 10 and an integral head 14 which is curved so as to fit into the annular groove 12, as shown in FIG- URE 1. The head 14 abuts against the key 11 to hold it in position and the end of the stem 13 which projects outwardly from the ferrule is fixed to the roll barrel by a grub screw 15. Alternatively the stem 13 may be welded to the roll barrel.

The carbon ferrule is not wettable by the glass which it engages, and the ferrule can be immersed in a molten bath, for example when an edge roll according to the invention is in use as a lower roll, immersed in the bath, of a pair of edge rolls for gripping a margin of a ribbon of glass as it is advanced along the bath of molten metal. Alternatively the ferrule may be made of a different material, for example the ferrule may be made of spheroidal graphite cast iron with a surface coating of tungsten carbide or titanium carbide. With this construction the ferrule is cooled by circulating a fluid, for example water, through the central bore 6 of the roll barrel. As a further alternative for use when the roll barrel is cooled, the ferrule may be made of spheroidal graphite cast iron with a layer of chromium diffused into the outer surface of the cast iron.

The means fixing the ferrule to the roll barrel is not exposed to attack by the molten metal of the bath, and an edge roll constructed according to the invention has a long life under the arduous conditions of operation when immersed in a molten metal bath.

We claim:

1. An edge roll for engaging a margin of a ribbon of glass as it is advanced along a bath of molten metal, comprising a barrel of heat-resistant metal adapted to project through the side of the bath and carrying at one end a ferrule of high melting point material for engaging the glass, said one end of the roll barrel being formed with a longitudinally extending keyway and the ferrule being formed with an internal keyway which includes a longitudinally extending part overlying the keyway in the roll barrel and an annular transverse groove, and further comprising a key in the form of a longitudinally extending bar which engages in both said keyways and secures the ferrule to the roll barrel along the length of the ferrule, and a T-shaped retaining piece the leg of which fits into the end of the keyways and the-head of Which fits into said annular internal groove and which is fixed to the roll barrel to hold the key in position and protect the key from the environment of use of the edge roll.

2. An edge roll according to claim 1, wherein the ferrule is constituted of material selected from the group of materials consisting of carbon, spheroidal graphite cast iron with a surface coating of tungsten carbide, spheroidal graphite cast iron with a surface coating of titanium car bide, and spheroidal graphite cast iron with an outer diffused layer of chromium.

3. An edge roll according to claim 1, wherein the key and retaining piece are made of spheroidal graphite cast iron.

4. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of flat glass in ribbon form, comprising in combination a tank structure containing a bath of molten metal, and edge rolls according to claim 1, projecting inwardly through the tank structure to engage the margins of a ribbon of glass as it is advanced along the bath.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1965 Hartwig 374 XR 1l/l965 Nogard et al 65-182 XR FRANK W. MIGA, Primary Examiner 

